Two years ago I moved to Chicago, which just broke it's record for longest number of consecutive days without snow. Through December it looks like only rain is in the forecast. For irony, I started to look through photos of snow in the last place I lived, Richmond, VA. I'm going to post three sets of pictures: first along the ex-C&O, then the ex-SAL/ACL, and finally, NS.

In Richmond for a time I had a great apartment that overlooked Rivanna Junction on the ex-C&O Rivanna/Peninsula Subs just west of Fulton Yard. I could railfan in all weather simply by looking out the window, as shown in pic 1, where a coal train to Wheelwright, VA, is waiting for a signal at Rivanna Junction to head briefly north, then reverse south on the Bellwood Sub.

2. In this case, I decided to step outside for another view.

3. On another day, an Amtrak train from Newport News waits for its eastbound counterpart to clear Rivanna Junction.

6. Another eastbound coal train throttles up to get it's massive train at enough speed to make it over the grade in/east of Fulton Yard without pushers. In this case the sound of loaded coal at 30 mph both makes a racket and causes snow to cascade off of the viaduct.

7. Coal heads east over NS's line to West Point as fresh snow falls.

8. Snow falls at night as a turn from Fulton Yard waits at Rivanna Junction for the light now that an eastbound Amtrak has cleared.

My office was directly below the top floor in the "Pump House" in picture 14 at James River Corp. I was not an avid CSX fan in those days but got in some really great fanning from the lower veranda. Thanks for the memories.

The viaduct is 1.78 miles from the west end to just east of where the photos from the apartment were taken, an embankment for 205 feet, then the trestle contines east for a total length of 2.24 miles. A unique factor of this viaduct is that it parallels the river and does not cross it. Don't know any others like that, except for a bit in St Louis